by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
Now that federal regulations aimed at reducing manatee deaths statewide are in effect, officials from local and State organizations are now faced with the decision of whether or not to adopt them.
City Council member Lynette Self, who chairs the Waterways Commission, held a meeting Tuesday afternoon with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation to determine what the ramifications would be depending on either course of action.
Julie Jones, director of law enforcement for the FFWC, said that if the State chooses to endorse any of the individual provisions — they essentially impose broader, regulated speed zones and additional federally funded signage along the St. Johns River — they have to endorse them as is.
“We have to adopt each one completely or not at all,” said Jones. “There isn’t any tweaking of the restrictions right now,”
According to Jones, who added the regulations could possibly be altered in the future, if the speed zones are not “adequately enforced” at the local level, both public organizations and private citizens could run the risk of being denied dock permits, thereby losing access to the river entirely.
“And we don’t want our officers here not to enforce them after we go ahead and tell the feds that we are,” she said. “We’re not going to force an officer to overlook the law.”
Kipp Frohlich, FFWC bureau chief of protected species management, echoed a common theme when he said the regulated areas in question were “not well defined,” making it even more difficult to determine where signage alerting boaters of the restricted areas would go,” said Frohlich after the meeting. “No one can really determine how wide or how far the boundaries stretch. Those details will have to be worked out before we can make any recommendations to the State. We’re still trying to get a better understanding ourselves.”
Federal signage will be established whether or not the State gives its blessing, though local officials will not be responsible for removing conflicting signs already in place.
Self, who previously decried the impositions devised by the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service as “wrong,” “inaccurate” and based on outdated and insufficient research, questioned when it would be acceptable to protest the laws as opposed to further placating the group.
“What happens when no manatees are saved because of this?” she said. “I’m worried about what will happen further down the line when more restrictions come up.”
Self also questioned the long-term economic impact of the Federal regulations.
“How is it going to affect boating businesses in the area if these restrictions get out of hand?” she said.
Following the meeting, deemed “productive” by Jones and Frohlich, Self said she will compile more information over the next several weeks, which will be presented to the mayor’s office. From there, she is expected to appear before the FFWC at its November meeting, where a consensual recommendation from the State will likely be presented.
And though speculative, legal action against the Federal government may be taken if a resolution agreeable to Duval County and the Fish and Wildlife Service can’t be reached.
Greg Radlinski of the General Counsel’s Office, who has worked with Waterways Commission on the topic for some time, declined to comment saying, “You’ll have to ask the administration about that.”
Phone calls to the mayor’s office were not returned.